As the heat continued to soar by mid-day, the enthusiastic spirit and encouraging support from parents and fellow schoolmates of the competitors at the SPH Schools Relay Championships 2010 rose along with it. Into its 18th year, the two-day event took place on Saturday and Sunday, (March 6 and 7) at the Bukit Gombak Stadium.
Featuring relay distances of 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m and 4x800m for A (17-19yrs), B(15-16yrs) and C(13-14yrs) Division boys and girls, this year proved to be a victorious year for the boys from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) [ACS(I)].
After breaking the championship record of 3:32.09 in the B Division 4x400m category set by Singapore Sports School in 2006 to 3:29.35 on the first day of the event, the B Boys went on to re-write their day old record with an astonishing time of 3:23.09 yesterday.
That was not the end of the record breaking feat, as the team also managed to set the new championship record in the 4x100m category, breaking the record of 43.68secs held by Singapore Sports School in 2008 with a time of 43.34seconds.
With their dominant performance on both days, it came as no surprise when ACS (I) were awarded the C and B Division champion team trophy, the overall challenge trophy and the coveted Tay Cheng Khoon Memorial Trophy, the memorial trophy which recognises the most outstanding relay team.
Other results saw Singapore Sports School retaining their C Girls champion team trophy, Nanyang Girls High School emerging as the B Girls champion team and Hwa Chong Institution Junior College and Raffles Institution Junior College as recipients of the A Division Girls and Boys champion team trophy respectively.
As the boys of ACS (I) approached the podium in unison to receive their memorial trophy and draw a close to another successful year of the SPH Schools Relay Championships, smiling and giving one another pats on the back for a job well done, their impressive feat was achieved anything but independently.
By: Rajini Krishnamuti